The Tale of the Curious Dragon
by ScotlandNeedsWerewolves
Summary: Prince Light of the Land of Arana is preparing to take the throne after his father's death. However, he is faced with many obstacles including political upheaval and the offer of a most curious dragon. A/U set in a fantasy world.


Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note or any of the characters from the series. I do claim the right to a few original characters. Abby , Aramis, and Cyra belong to me while Kay belongs to my friend Vera-Sama. Now that that's out of the way, please enjoy.

Chapter 1: On the Horizon

A silent figure in a deep red cloak made their way to a secluded cave at a relaxed pace. It was well past sunset and their way was lit with a rather weak lantern. The person in the cloak had a different way of seeing things. Of course, they saw with their eyes like every other person, but they could see further, perhaps than another person. And it was just this different sight that had landed them walking through the dark, looking for a moldy cave housing a dragon of all things. However, this was what the king wanted.

Finally finding themselves at the mouth of cavern, the figure simply stood and waited until they heard movement. The sound was rather reminiscent of a roar of a large hungry bear. However, due to their "sight" into things, the figure was not afraid. This dragon was not only friendly, but it was a rather bored and dissatisfied beast. Seeing a pair of glowing yellow eyes with red pupils, the figure assumed a rather friendly posture. "Good evening."

"Hello, there," the dragon replied, not moving from its spot.

"The King of Arana sent me here."

"Ah. How respectful of him to send you here to a dragon's lair," the beast said rather sarcastically.

The figure shrugged and shook their head. "I don't question it. He gave me a message for you. Although it's truly superfluous."

"Oh? What is it?"

"He'd just like to say that he'd rather you don't destroy any major property around his kingdom."

"I see. I'm not the type to try and start a fight with my neighbors, though."

"That makes my mission all the easier."

"You're not an average human, are you?"

"No, I suppose you could say I'm not."

The two paused supposedly finished with their conversation before the figure spoke again. There was something that needed to be said for the sake of the king besides what was already laid bare.

"I do know that something will happen. It won't be direct damage, but it will happen. Could you at least wait until the king is dead? He won't last very long. What I see coming would destroy him beyond just physical death."

"Your king may not have respect for you, but you have respect for him?"

"Well, dragon…it's not every day that one finds someone with complete power that is not corrupted completely."

Along with the two slowing eyes, a wide grin appeared, showing rows of gleaming yellow teeth. "My name is Ryuk."

: : : :

The news of the deaths of king and queen Yagami rang throughout the kingdom of Arana like wild fire. Luckily, the king had thought ahead and laid to words specific instructions in the event of his death before his son, Light's, twentieth birthday. A Regency Council of specific people appointed by the king was put in place which included trusted noblemen, advisors to the king and the prince, and even a few tutors and contemporaries to the prince. All these people had earned the king's trust and it was assumed that all of them had the prince's best interests at heart.

The main purpose of this was to keep the kingdom from falling apart at the seams, but the inner political structure began to show fray within a few weeks of the news.

Lord Mihael of the Wammy House completely left his family shortly after it was announced that the king and queen had met their demise. While not many people knew the details, it was commonly known that he was a masterful necromancer and that he began living with two mysterious and unknown figures. His departure would have left his younger brother, Beyond in control of the Wammy House, but after his outright refusal of the title, their two younger sisters, Abby and Kay now run the family's affairs with their combined intellectual strength.

Many noble families in the Arana court would rather that two fifteen year-old girls not have control over the very influential family like the Wammys, however, they had more supporters than enemies.

Another noble family undergoing many changes was the House of River. Lord River had taken it upon himself to seek foreign advice as to how the Regency Council should act, but foreign aid came with a price that no one else was willing to pay. He believed that if either of the Yagami siblings should take the throne in the future, the young princess Sayu should. He seemed to be able to see a side of the prince that no one else did. His young son Nate, on the other hand, finds his father's actions rash and without much thought. He believed that were he allowed to be part of the Regency Council, he would be able to ascertain any problems and come to a logical conclusion to them.

The king's advisor, Teru Mikami, a trusted lawmaker was appointed the prince's advisor, wishing to point him in the right direction. However, many nobles have found that his behavior was less than welcome when the king was alive and that it would not change now that the king was gone. Many nobles shouted for another advisor for the prince, and thus…another was brought in.

The sisters overseeing the Wammy House brought forth one advisor that they felt would be a strong influence as well as a good one for the prince. Their private tutor, Ryuuzaki was presented to the Regency Council and the prince as a potential advisor and mentor to the future king of Arana. The sisters explained that their grandfather, the late Lord Wammy, had hired him as their tutor five years ago and that his teachings were flawless in logic. Not only that, but the soft-spoken Abby added that his political views were always geared toward a just and good side much like that of their grandfather. While not much was known about this man besides their sisters' testimony, he was appointed by a unanimous vote of the Council as the prince's second advisor.

One could see that with this eclectic bunch of noblemen and scholars, things would get a bit awkward once things were said and done for daily meetings. While it was not required for the prince to attend these meetings, he saw it as his obligation. However, this seemed to make things worse. The councilmen seemed to be sensitive to the prince's presence and only mentioned very few things in detail in his presence at first. Light thought that perhaps it would stop in time, but he had been attending these conferences for some time now. He was rather sensitive to some things, too. For one thing, he could sense a great hostility coming from a few of the nobles like…Lord River and Lord Anniston. He didn't need his advisors to tell him that he shouldn't eat or drink anything from either of them.

"Well, I do believe that concludes this morning's meeting," Lord Anniston said, standing abruptly, straightening his tailored doublet.

"We haven't discussed what to do with the extra money in the treasury, Lord Anniston," Lady Abby said sheepishly but loud enough that everyone heard. While she was very soft-spoken, what she had to say usually carried more weight than one realized.

"That's true," Ryuuzaki said, his knees hovering over the table as he sat in his unusual sitting posture. "I believe we should try to use that money to educate some of the subjects of Arana, don't you, Your Highness?"

Light nodded. "Yes, that sounds wonderful. That should create a more sophisticated class system and a more organized work force."

The scholar smiled as he added a few more lumps of sugar to his tea.

"But!" Lord River said, trying to get his word in. "If we do that, it will create more of an opportunity for the to revolt!"

"You mean the lower classes," Lady Kay clarified, brushing back a few strands of her golden hair to show that the expression behind her blue eyes, which matched her sisters', was not a happy one. "The 'them' you speak of are the lower classes, and they are as much entitled to live a healthy life as the rest of us, Lord River."

"As Lord Anniston has pointed out, we are running a bit over our allotted time…" Mikami said, checking the minutes from the last meeting.

"I don't recall a specific time allotted," the almost shy Lady spoke again. "These are serious matters and deserve serious consideration."

"Exactly," Light said, standing up, looking Lord Anniston in the eye. The pompous lord was still standing as if he were about leave. "The people of Arana deserve our utmost attention, Lord Anniston. Please sit so that we may resume our meeting."

The older man harrumphed and sat back in his seat and looked down his nose as if he had just gotten an idea. "What does…Lady Cyra see with this situation?"

Everyone took pause to look over to the foot of the table where the mentioned Lady sat, rather uninterested. Lady Cyra was different from everyone at the table. She did not begin life as a noble, and she was not appointed to a high position of advisor or lawmaker…or even scholar. She was the late king's soothsayer. Every prediction she had given was completely accurate and she even had a reputation for reading minds. While she did not have a mind for politics, she still loved the people of Arana and wanted the best for them. Having been raised in the early stages of her life as a lower class citizen, she had a different perspective from the noblemen.

"I suppose you mean that you want me to make a prediction on the matter, Lord Anniston," she said flatly, resting her face in her hand and tapping her forehead with her index finger. "As you said 'see' instead of 'say'."

She was also known for her sharp tongue whether speaking with servant or lord.

"Well, if you'd rather…"

The soothsayer shook her head and made a waving motion, cutting him off. "If you use that money for anything but the people and somehow word leaks out…then you will have an increased chance of a revolt…Lord River. If you educate them, they will want to strive to achieve long-term goals. Use the money wisely." She made it a point to look the prince in the eye with that conclusion.

The young prince nodded in agreement. "The money will be used for the people." Looking around, he noticed that he was still standing. This pressure from daily meetings and still coping with the grief from losing his parents made him more exhausted in less time than it would have. "Tomorrow, we will decide exactly to what purpose the money will be used."

"The meeting is ending now, your Highness?" Mikami chirped up.

"…Yes. The meeting will end now if there are no objections."

After a moment of silence, Light nodded and headed out the door, wanting to spend some time to himself. He was the first to leave the room. Honestly, the only two members of the Regency Council that liked each other enough to speak badly about him after leaving the room were Lord Anniston and Lord River, but with everyone else against them, there was a small chance of that.

Just as he was about to enter the main artery of the palace to walk to the stables, he stopped in sudden surprise when a figure passed in front of him with enormous speed. He noticed a flash of black hair and immediately thought it was Lady Abby, but she was still in the room. And this figure had more of a male shape to it. But, Ryuuzaki was still in the room as well. Coming into the corridor, he recognized the man as Lord Beyond. He was heading to the kitchen by the looks of it. Taking a breath from being surprised to compose himself, he continued on a few more steps before he was stopped suddenly again.

"Lord Beyond isn't of his right mind since his grandfather's passing," a shaky voice said from the side. Aramis Anniston was Lord Anniston's only son. He was in bad health and rather jittery, but he was still of sound mind…unlike Beyond. "But he means no harm. I'm sure you can relate to him on some level…"

The prince nodded. "Yes, grief causes many things along with sadness."

The young noble nodded, his gaunt features not changing as his lank brown hair moved around his face. "Have a good day, Your Highness," he said before walking down the hall Light had just exited.

The walk to the stables went much smoother after that. Guards had offered to escort him on his ride, but the prince required solitude. He was well versed in defensive and offensive magic should the need arise for either. Alone, he could be anyone he wanted and think anything he wanted. Alone, he was not a prince; he was someone trying to find himself. He was not expected to perform for a court. He rather thrived on his title and his politics for the most part, but sometimes a short reprieve was needed.

It had been a few months since losing his parents, and he really should have had his mind on his responsibilities, but he was only human after all. He wasn't even certain that the court wanted him to be king in three years. Lords Anniston and River obviously didn't want him to take the throne, and while the others on the Regency Council usually agreed with him on most things, they also remained rather neutral on the issue.

And speaking of neutral…Really, what could have caused an outside nation to ambush the king and queen of a neutral nation? Arana had always had a good standing with all the lands that bordered it.

That was when he had a realization. An epiphany, really.

If it had not been an outside source…perhaps it was a force from inside the palace. The pulled his horse to a hault. He looked back toward the palace. It was a small speck in his vision, but he needed to be all the way away from it. One never knew when a spy could find the forest a good place to hide. He rode the horse farther and farther into the forest until he could no longer see the palace and no longer think about anyone catching up with him. He needed to think. He knew that his father had enemies…what king did not? But…could any of his father's contemporaries really have conspired to kill him? The late king was a very trusting person; it was certainly possible.

For the third time that day, he was surprised by a sudden movement. This movement, however, was much larger than any human could make. Dismounting his horse, he slowly approached the noise. If it was a beast, he needed to be ready. Taking his bow and knocking an arrow, he waited. The thing moved again, revealing a large scaled arm with five fingers adorned with large white claws. It was a dragon.

"No need to be frightened, boy," he heard someone say. The prince couldn't see them, but the voice was loud enough that it wasn't a whisper and soft enough that it sounded like the conversational tone of a human. "Haha…yes, it's the dragon speaking. But you're in luck. I've already eaten today."

Light's eyes darted around and found what looked like the remains of a rather large elk. Furrowing his eyebrows, he placed the bow and the arrow back where they went and slowly approached the dragon.


End file.
